Quilts: Keepsakes for Any Generation

My mother, my grandmother, and my great-grandmother have all been quilters. Growing up I didn't appreciate the time the women in my family spent underneath a lamp studying the fine stitches they created one painstaking thread at a time. I didn't understand why they would spend months focusing on these intricate details only to find a safe place for it later where little hands, dust bunnies, and the sun couldn't reach it.

I am older now, and I finally appreciate the time it took them to make those quilts. Now I understand that dust, the sun, and my dirty hands would have ruined them. My grandmother and great-grandmother are gone, but I am grateful for those memories. They left behind beautiful quilts that I will someday give to my children and my grandchildren.

With advanced technology in the world, even in the arts and crafts world, quilting has progressed to level of mass production. In a sense this is good because it increases the value of those hand-made, custom-designed quilts from the days of yore. But this raises another point. What about the quilts from days of yore?

When a quilter makes a quilt completely by hand, the pieces of fabric (usually squares) are chosen for artistic reasons or a similar purpose. Mass produced quilts are made with efficiency rather than with the long life of a quilt in mind. With handmade quilts, however, the design and fabric that hold the squares together are chosen so that the quilts will last lifetimes.

The quilts created by retailers or online vendors are cheap, and production is fast. You may even be allowed to choose the design, what color of fabric will be used, and where on the quilt pieces of fabric will be placed. Most of the time, these types of quilts are done quickly and end up looking just like many other quilts. If you want a quilt that is long-lasting and has been created artistically, then a custom handmade quilt is for you.

Not only can you choose the colors and design for your quilt, a custom quilter can help you decide which colors and designs will best compliment your desired look. Fiber artists truly care that your quilt is beautiful; after all, they do put their names on their quilts. You do not see this with a mass produced quilt.

Additionally, if the quilt you have in mind will be a keepsake, then for that reason alone a custom, hand made quilt is your best option. They take a little while to make, and they're more expensive than the mass-produced quilt, but with this option the end result will be a quilt that your children's children will hide from the sun, dust bunnies, and dirty hands too.

About the Author

About the author: Sara Musfeldt has been a fan of quilting art for many years. She's reviewed the creations of Moonlight Quilts, including their t-shirt quilts.